Drawing mechanism for spinning frames and the like



B. L. LOUIE Oct. 26, 1943.

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING FRAMES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 8, 1941 5 Figli lnvreqg s 74 Zara-finale B. L. LOUIE Oct. 26, 1943.

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING FRAMES AND THE LIKE Filed July 8, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3- B. L. LOUIE 2,332,973

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING FRAMES AND THE LIKE Filed July 8, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 17 16 17a 14 17a 16 1 7 4 if I 14 522 1 19 P18 ur -1g 17 g 17a ,16 i7 19 F1316 Figif).

Lvevg: 5"? lam Louie B. L. LOUIE Oct. 26, 1943.

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING FRAMES AND THE LIKE Filed July 8, 1941 4 SheetsSheet 4 Patented Oct. 26, 1943 DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING FRAMES AND THELIKE Ban Lem Louie, Shanghai, China; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application July 8, 1941, Serial No. 401,485 In Great Britain July 1, 1940 6 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarn, the apparatus being of the typ wherein a sliver or roving is drafted between a pair of endless bandsarranged around the middle pair of rollers of the spinning frame, pressure being applied to the drawing rollers by means of a saddle mechanism which is connected to a spring operated lever mechanism mounted upon a fixed part of the apparatus and so arranged that by raising the saddle mechanism, the pressure action of the spring is removed from the drawing rollers and exerted in a direction such as to retain the saddle mechanism in its raised position, the loading being restored to said rollers when the pressure saddle is lowered again.

The invention consists in an apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns of the type above referred to, in which the upper and lower endless bands arranged around the middle pair of drawing rollers are provided at their forward ends, at a point between the middle and front pairs of rollers, with a pair of tensors which are slidably mounted within recesses formed in the cap bars, the upper tensor being resiliently mounted so as to be capable of movement towards and away from the lower tensor within the said slots, thereby to apply a yielding pressure to the slivers or rovings.

The invention also consists in the further features hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a slide elevation of the complete drawing mechanism constructed according to the invention,

Figure 2 a front elevation,

Figure 3 a plan,

Figure 4 a side elevation of the saddle mechanism,

Figure 5 a side elevation of the middle rollers and their associated endless bands,

Figure 6 a front elevation,

Figure '7 a plan and Figure 8 an end elevation of the upper tensor,

Figure 9 an end elevation and Figure 10 a side elevation of a modified form -of upper tensor,

Figure 17 is a front elevation of an improved lower tensor shown in combination with an upper tensor,

Figure 18 is a plan view,

Figure 19 is a side view, Figure 19A is a vertical section taken on th line l9l9 of Figure 17 and showing the relative position of other adjacent parts, i. e., the endless bands and the middle pair of drawing rollers,

Figure 20 is a side elevation of the drawing head fitted with a modified saddle mechanism and loading means, and

Figure 21 is a side elevation of the improved saddle and its yoke or ball, detached from the drawing head.

In the drawings, l is a stationary support on which are mounted three pairs of drawing rollers, namely, front rollers 2 and 5, middle rollers 3 and 6, and back rollers 4 and I. The lower rollers 2, 3 and 4 of each pair are rotatably mounted in the support I, whilst the upper rollers 5, 6 and I which rest upon said lower rollers are held in their correct positions bycap bars each of which comprises three blocks 81:, 8a and 8a. The rear block 8.1: is secured to an arm 8b pivoted at 9 to the rearward portion of the support I, whilst the middle and front blocks 8a are mounted upon a rod 80 which is slldably adjustable relative to the arm 81) and upon which the middle block 8a may also be slldably adjustable. In this way each cap bar as constituted by the three blocks 82:, 8a and 8a can be swung upwardly out of its operative position. The blocks 81:, 8a and 8a are provided with vertically disposed slots l0 extending the whole depth of the blocks and within which are slibably engaged the reduced ends ll of the upper rollers of each pair, said slots serving to position the rollers while permitting them to roll freely. The lower rollers are preferably fluted or grooved in well known manner. v

The front blocks 8a of the cap bars, at a point between the front and middle pairs of rollers,

are provided with additional slots or recesses l2.

These slots or recesses l2 instead of extending the whole depth of the front blocks 8a as is the case with the slots l0, stop short a little distance from the underside of said blocks so as to be closed at their lower ends. Further, the recesses l2 instead of being arranged parallel to the slots It may be disposed at a slight angle to the vertical for a purpose to be referred to later. The drawing mechanism as so far described is similar to that described in my prior atent specification No. 2,209,573. 7 V

The slots I 2 engage with the ends of a pair of upper and lower tensors l3 and 14 which extend between the cap bars parallel to the rollers. The lower tensor l4 shown in detail in Figures 14 and 15 comprises a pair of U-shaped bracket portions i5 arranged at equal distances on each side of the centre of the tensor, and within which are rotatably mounted rollers I8. The said rollers are adapted to be inserted from the top of the tensor, one of the reduced ends of each roller engaging within a hole ll formed in one of the vertical limbs of each bracket, whilst the other end drops into a slot lla formed in the other verticallimb of each bracket and open at its upper end. The position of the holes I1 and the depth of the recesses "a are such that when the rollers I8 are in position the upper surfaces of the latter are slightly below the top surface of the reduced end portions IQ of the tensor which slidably engage within the recesses l2 of the front block 8a and normally rest on the bottom thereof. 1

The upper tensor l3 shown in detail in Figures 6, 7 and 8 which is also reduced at its ends 28 to engage the slots I2, is provided in the middle of its length with a pin 2| which projects vertically from the upper surface of said tensor whilst on each side of said pin, at a distance therefrom subsequently equal to that of the bracket portions l5 of the lower tensor [4 is provided recesses 22. These recesses which are open at the top extend downwardly to within a short distance of the bottom surface of the bar so as to leave relatively narrow portions 23 at these parts of the tensor.

Secured to that side of the tensor l3 remote from the front pair of rollers 2, 5 and adjacent the .two ends of each of the slots 22 are four prongs or guide pieces 24 which extend outwardly from said bar and downwardly for some distance below the same,'the said prongs being disposed along the length of the tensor in two pairs, one pair to each slot. The upper tensor [3 as above described is substantially the same as that described in my earlier patent specification No. 2,209,573.

The underside of the upper tensor I3 is flat, and when placed in position with its reduced ends in the slots l2 of the cap bars, normally rests upon the end portions IQ of the lower tensor l4, gaps being left between the lower surface of the upper tensor l3 and the top surface of the rollers l8 of the lower tensor l4 by reason of the position of the said rollers as already stated.

Arranged around the upper middle roller 31 is a pair of endless bands 25, the upper stretches of which extend forwards and downwards through the slots 22 and round the front edges 23 of the upper tensor l3 which may be suitably rounded off, and thence back through the gaps between the rollers l6 and the upper tensor l3, and then between the two pairs of prongs 24 to the roller 6 again.

A second pair of endless bands 28 are similar] arranged, around the lower middle roller 3 the said bands in this case passing upwardly andforwardly from the roller 3, between the pairs of prongs 24 of the upper tensor l3 and between the vertical limbs of the bracket portions l5 of the lower tensor I4 whence they pass round the rollers l6 and back through the gaps formed between" is driven in any well known manner by suitable mechanism not shown, the upper bands being also revolved due to their frictional contact-with the lower bands.

In order to press the upper rollers 5, 8 and l firmly against the lower rollers 2, 3 and 4 and thereby cause the upper and lower drawing elements of each pair to move at the same surface speed, a saddle mechanism is provided which comprises a rear part 21 which bears upon the rollers 8 and I and a front part 28 which bears upon the roller 5. These two parts of the saddle members are connected to one another by means of a rod 29 secured to the part 28 and which extends through an opening in the part 21. The front part 28 of the saddle is provided with a handle portion 38, and has also pivotally connected thereto the upper end of a connecting rod 3| the lower end of which is connected to the pressure mechanism proper.

The pressure mechanism comprises a pair of side plates 32 slightly spaced apart and connected together by a base plate 33 to form a frame which is secured upon a fixed bar 34. The frame at one end forms an arm having an inwardly projecting portion 35 which serves as a support and a pivot for one of a pair of caps 36 which telescopically engage one another to form a cylinder within which is located a compression spring 31 which tends to force the two caps apart and acts in substitution for the usual weight for the purpose of loading the drawing mechanism. Between the side plates 32 of the frame there is positioned a lever 38 which is mounted upon a pin 39 secured to the upper end of a second arm formed at the other end of said frame. This lever at its rearend serves as a second support or pivot 48 for the cylinder 36 and also as a fulcrum for the lever 38 upon the said cylinder, whilst at its front end the said lever is formed with a hook 4|, to which the lower end of the pressure transmitting connecting rod 3| is connected. The lever 38 is also provided with an arcurate slot 42 arranged concentrically with the pivot 38 of said lever, and within which engages a pin 43 secured to the supporting frame whereby a limited rocking movement is permitted to the lever 38.

In the normal working position as shown in Figure 1, the fulcrum 48 of the lever 38 on the cylinder 36 is situated above a line XX which connects the pivot 38 of said lever and the point of support 35 of the cylinder with the frame. As a result the spring 31 tends to rock the lever 38 in a clockwise direction (as seen in Figure 1) thus exerting a pull on the connecting rod 3|. If, however, the lever 38 is caused to rock in a counter-clockwise direction by raising the handle portion 38 of the saddle mechanism thereby exerting a pull on the connecting rod 3|, the said lever will arrive at a position in which the fulcrum 48 drops below the line X-X, whereupon the spring 31 will tend to cause the lever to rotate in a. counter-clockwise direction and raise the connecting rod and maintain said rod and the saddle mechanism in the raised position. When the mechanism is in this position it is easy to remove the saddle mechanism and its connecting rod in order to dismount the entire drawing mechanism, the lower end of the connecting rod being disengaged from the hooked end of the lever 38 by exerting a slight forward pull thereon. In order to return the parts to their normal working position, the handle 38 is pressed downwards and with it the connecting rod it which causes the lever 38 to rock downwards again and when the fulcrum 40 again passes above the line 3-1! the apparatus again works under the same conditions as shown in Figure 1.

It is to be understood that the saddle and pressure mechanisms as above described are of well known type and form no part of the invention per se.

Secured at its upper end to the underside of the front part 28 of the saddle. at a po nt opposite the pin 2| of the upper tensor i3, is a spring 44 which flats over the said pin so as to rest at its lower end upon the top of said upper tensor. In this way aresilient pressure is applied to the top tensor by the front part of the saddle through the sp ing 44 whereby the top pair of bands 25 are yieldingly pressed against the lower pair of bands 26, such pressure of the bands being similar to that produced by the fingers in hand spinning.

The recesses l2 in which the top and bottom tensors are slidably mounted may be given a slight inclination from their upper to their lower ends in a direction away from the plane passing through the axes of the middle rollers, so that a tensioning of the upper and lower pairs of endless bands takes place as the said tensors are pressed downwardly in their recesses under the pressure of the spring saddle mechanism. Should greater tensioning be required than that aliorded by the inclination of the slots, then the middle blocks 8a of the cap bars may be adjusted along their associated rods 80 by means of set screws 8d until the required tensioning is obtained.

As the slivers or rovings 45 are driven through the rollers between the upper and lower pairs of bands 25 and 25 the upper tensor I3 is free to adjust itself within the slots l2 against the action of the spring 44 whereby the gaps between the upper and lower tensors is varied and the upper bands are thereby caused to apply a yielding pressure to the slivers or rovings which pressure is closely akin to that produced by hand spinning and which results in the production horizontally, both sets are arranged vertically one behind the other each prong Mb in the front row being connected to a corresponding prong 48 in the back row so as. to form a series oi inverted U-shaped brackets which are adapted to fit over the lower middle drawing roller. Each bracket is provided at its upper end with a horizontal projecting arm 48 which is slotted at 50 and engages a pin 5i projecting from each of the vertical limbs of the bracket portions 22b which form the guides for the bands and are suitably slotted at 52 to permit sliding movement of the arms 48. In this way the prongs 24b and 48 are permitted to'move backwards and forwards in unison with any similar movement imparted to the lower middle roller or to the blocks 8a to maintain the required tension of the bands 25 and 26. p

In the foregoing description, the upper tensor in ca ch modification has been fitted with prongs such as 24, 24a, 24b in order to guide the endless belts 25, 26, but no prongs were fitted to the lower tensor, but a' modification will now be described in which the reverse arrangement, i. e., prongs are fitted to the lower tensor and this is used with an upper tensor such as that shown in Figure 9 of my prior patent specification No. 2,209,573 in which no prongs are used.

Referring now to Figures 17 to 19A, the lower tensor comprises a vertical frame 53 stamped or otherwise formed from a flat top bar 54, so as to constitute a pair of somewhat deep U-shaped sockets 55 depending from the bar 54 and spaced apart at a distance corresponding to sockets 58 of more even and stronger yarn. Also by the resilient mounting of the upper tensor l3 such adjustment of the upper pair of bands is possible without interfering with the normal pressure of the saddle mechanism upon the drawing rollers.

Further, by supporting the lower bands 26 on rollers l6 mounted in the lower tensor I4, it is a simple matter to remove any one of said bands, should it become damaged, without it being necessary to interfere with the others, suchband, after it is repaired, being easily replaced in position in its associated bracket whilst still surrounding its supporting roller. Further the bracket portions also serve as additional guides for the stretches of the upper and lower bands.

In the modified form of upper tensor Ila shown in Figures 9 and 10 there is provided, in addition to the two pairs of vertical prongs 24a, 2. second set of two pairs of substantially horizontal prongs 46 which extend rearwardly between the neck portions 41 of the middle pair of drawing rollers 3a and 5a and which serve as additional guiding means for the stretches of the upper and lower pairs of bands.

In the further modified form of upper tensor lib illustrated in Figures 11, 12 and 13, instead of having one set of two pairs of prongs arranged vertically and the other set disposed formed in the upper tensor 51 as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1'7. The ends of such flat top bar 54 are reduced as shown in Figure 18 to engage with the slots I! as already described and shown in Figure 1.

Projecting laterally from one side of each side limb of the U-shaped sockets 55 is a forked ex tension 58 comprising a pair of prongs 59 which are somewhat obliquely arranged to the plane containing the sockets, the prongs being adapted to engage with, and fit partly around, the reduced neck portion of the lower roller 3 of the middle pair of drawing rollers 3 and 6, and project radially for a sufficient distance to form side guides for the endless bands 25 and 2B, and keep them in position, as shown in Figure 19A.

The upper part of each U-shaped socket 55 is adapted to be closed or bridged by a short closer bar 50 formed with spigot ends iii to engage with slots 62 formed partly in the fiat top bar 54, and partly in the upper part of each side limb of each U-shaped socket 55. These slots are of such a depth that when the closer bars are in position such closer plates will lie somewhat below the level of the top bar of the lower tensor. Such closer bars 60 each essentially constitute the lower tensor, and as seen in the sectional view in Figure 19A the lower endless band 26 of each pair of endless bands is passed round the forward edge, and for which purpose the edge is rounded to afford easy movement to the band. Its back edge may be similarly rounded so as to make the tensor interchangeable.

To work in combination with such a lower tensor, the upper tensor 51, as already described in the specification of my prior patent, comprises a bar in which a pair of sockets 56 are formed. The edge at the bottom of each socket is rounded as shown at 63 in Figure 19A and around the forward side of which the upper endless belt 25 passes, sufllcient space being left between the partlloftheuppertensorandthepartllof the lower tensor to receive the sliver or roving which is to be treated The upper tensor is under the influence of a spring M which eng ges with a -pin ll.

This improved lower tensor and frame is shown in proper working position on the drawing head in Figure 20, in dotted lines, and the advantage of using this lower tensor is that with the prongs described. the stretches of the upper and lower endless bands are fully guided at their sides so that the bands move regularly aind smoothly, whereby good and efllcient spinning will be ensured.

Referring more particularly to Figures 20 and 21, a modified form of drawing head is shown in which the upper roller of the middle pair, and the upper roller 8 of the front pair, are kept pressed down upon their respective lower rollers I and I by means of a saddle piece 64 having two pressure feet or pads a, b which bear respectively on the upper rollers 6 and 5. The centre part of the saddle rides upon one end of a spring 44 the other end of which fits around a pin II on the upper tensor 81, as shown in Figures 17, 19 and 19A. The saddle piece 64 is centrally pivoted at 6! to the upper end of a downwardly curving yoke or ball 86 the lower end of which is hooked at 61 to a link 68 attached to a dead weight 88 arranged beneath the table of the drawing head. It will be understood that by means of the spring 44 the saddle it exerts a yielding pressure upon the upper rollers and the upper and lower tensors, whilst .by means of the slot I! as already described, the endless bands are kept tight. It may be noted that the bearing block In for the upper middle roller 6 is yieldingly carried on the cap bar .0 by means of the spring 10 mounted on the cap bar between the bearing blocks for the upper rollers I and I.

It will be understood that whilst the invention has been described with reference to one set of twin front, middle and rear pairs of drawing rollers, any number of such sets may be provided alongside one another according to the overall length of rollers and drawing frame required.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns comprising front, middle and back pairs of upper and lower drawing rollers, a support for the lower rollers, cap bars engaged by the upper rollers and having slots therein, upper and lower endless bands engaging the upper and lower middle rollers, a saddle mechanism for applying pressure to said rollers, a roller tensor mounted in said slots and engaged by the lower band, a spring pressed upper tensor engaged by the upper band,

the lower tensor including a U-shaped bracket portion having vertical limbs, one of the limbs having a hole and the other limb having a recess open at its upper end, and a roller mounted at one end in said hole and engaged at its other end in said rece the upper surface of said roller being disposed slightly below the top surface of the lower tensor.

2. An apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns comprising front, middle and back pairs of upper and lower drawing rollers, a support for the lower rollers, cap bars engaged by the upper rollers and having slots therein, upper and lower endless bands engaging the upper and lower middle rollers. a saddle mechanism for applying pressure to said rollers, a lower tensor mounted in said slots and engaged by the lower band, a spring lers, a saddle mechanism for applying pressure to said rollers, a lower tensor mounted in said slots and engaged by the lower band, a spring pressed upper tensor engaged by the upper band,

two rows of vertically disposed prongs provided on the upper tensor arranged one behind the other, each prong in the front row being con-- nected to a corresponding prong in the back row to form a series of inverted U-shaped brackets fitting over the lower middle roller.

4. An apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns .comprising front, middle and back pairs of upper and lower drawing rollers, a support for the lower rollers, cap bars engaged by the upper rollers and having slots therein, upper and lower endless bands engaging the upper and lower middle rollers, a saddle mechanism for applying pressure to said rollers, a lower tensor mounted in said slots and engaged by the lower band, a spring pressed upper tensor engaged by the upper band, two rows of vertically disposed prongs provided on the upper tensor arranged one behind the other, each prong in the front row being connected to a corresponding prong in the back row to form a series of inverted U-shaped brackets fitting over the lower middle roller, the brackets being adjustably mounted upon the upper tensor.

5. An apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns comprising front, middle and back pairs of upper and lower drawing rollers, a support for the lower rollers, cap bars engaged by the upper rollers and having slots therein, upper and lower endless bands engaging the upper and lower middle rollers, a saddle mechanism for applying pressure to said rollers, a lower-tensor mounted in said slots and engaged by the lower band, a spring pressed upper tensor engaged by the upper band, prongs provided on the lower tensor engaging the lower roller of the middle pair and forming side guides for the endless bands, said lower tensor being used in connection with an upepr tenso 'not provided with prongs.

6. An apparatus for drafting cotton slivers or rovings for the production of spun yarns comprising front, middle and back pairs of upper and lower drawing rollers, a support for the lower rollers, cap bars engaged by the upper rollers and having slots therein, upper and lower endless coacting with the upper roller of the middle pair for tensioning the upper endless band.

BAN LEM LOUIE. 

